C'est La Vie
by imtakingallyoudownwithme
Summary: Anna Tripp takes the plunge to move to Miami to advance her career, relationships and life in general and stumbles across her father's co-worker: Ryan Wolfe. OCxRyan, don't like OC, don't read. Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

Moving interstate. It's an increasing trend for the average American. Phone calls are cheaper and Internet connections are higher. We have the economy to thank for that. It has increased the capital put into research and development, and competition in the market has driven prices down.

Nothing was going to stop me from moving interstate. I had a lot less to lose and a lot more to gain.

I could leave behind two moronic brothers, an even bigger moron of a stepfather and the original ice maiden mother in hicks town if it meant moving to a big city with career advancement, where my real father was located.

My parents divorced when I was ten. My mum accused my dad of cheating on him, he didn't, and she liked drama and walked out anyway, taking my brothers and I to live with her, driving Dad to Miami to work in homicide.

She soon met a construction worker called Barry and a month later, they were married.

He took a liking to my two brothers, and spent lots of quality time with them. He didn't feel the need to be a father figure for me, which suited me fine. I had a real dad.

Sadly over time, my brothers grew distant from dad. Their phone calls declined, they stopped coming with me to Miami for visits, until contact ceased altogether.

I could never do that to my Dad though; he was all that I had.

So I decided to move permanently to the city where my loving father was. I'd miss a few people in the hick town, but more opportunities were for me in Miami.

* * *

"Horatio, how much longer is this going to take? I promised my baby girl I'd pick her up from the airport today." Frank asked his co-worker and superior, as they leaned over Miami's latest murder victim.

"Baby girl?" his co-worker Eric asked, looking up at the other homicide detective, grinning widely to show his amusement at the statement, which sounded very unlike Frank.

"Yes, Frank's daughter is moving to Miami today. Frank, feel free to leave, I think we can handle it from here." The red haired lieutenant stated to Frank, smiling slightly.

Frank went silent for a moment, deep in thought. He then sighed and held his head low, as his parent and career obligations fought a battle in his head, with one being triumphant over the other.

"No, I must stay. I can always see her later. This investigation won't wait." Frank sighed, giving up.

"Since when do you have a daughter?" the other of the two younger male investigators asked, wearing the same toothy grin as Eric.

"Ryan, since she was born twenty two years ago. If I'm proud of anything in my life, it's raising that girl. Her two deadbeat brothers are things I've given up on, but my daughter has turned out perfectly." Frank proudly exclaimed, causing Eric and Ryan to give each other uneasy glances.

"You should probably call her then." Calleigh, the blonde southern belle said to Frank, smiling brightly, her body language and cheerful tone showing a different reaction to her male co-workers

* * *

"Hi sweet pea, its Dad. As soon as your flight is over, can you please call me? It's urgent." I listened.

I tried to not panic as I dialled his number. It could be anything; if it were too serious I wouldn't be hearing about it from a voice mail message. This thought shallowed my breathing.

As soon as I was in a comfortable place to talk, an empty terminal, I called my dad back.

He answered after only two and a half rings.

"Hi princess, how was your flight?" he asked me, curiousity in his voice, but I could also hear he was a tad rushed, as if wanting to move this conversation along quickly.

"It was okay I guess, for a flight." I stated, but then chuckled at the end, fearing I was sounding too cynical.

"That's good to hear and I'm so glad you're here." Dad said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"It is, however that's not the reason you called me, you'd just tell me when you came to pick me up, which I can guess isn't happening because you wouldn't call, you'd tell me in person." I analysed, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Good work honey, you'd make a great CSI. You're correct, I won't be able to make it to come pick you up from the airport." Dad sighed, sounding disappointed.

"That's okay, I can get a taxi, no biggie. What happened, anyway?" I asked curiously, as I started to walk towards the luggage pickup.

"There was a murder case. I can't really explain the details as of yet, but it's pretty bad. The victim was strewn across the highway." I heard Dad say, and cringe at the end.

He acted like a tough homicide detective on duty, but off duty he was the biggest pussycat. Blood and gore made him cringe, and he was the one who saw real blood and gore.

"Well that doesn't sound very nice." I commented, quite unsure as to what to say. That person would have family and friends and was a real person; commenting how grotesque or anything similar would be taking away their status as a human.

"It sure isn't. However, one of the CSIs has to drive the evidence back to the lab. The airport isn't too much out of the way, so our supervisor agreed to allow her to collect you. She should be there soon." Dad said to me.

"Okay. What's her name?" I asked Dad curiously, as I arrived at the carousel to collect my belongings.

"Her name is Calleigh and she'll be waiting for you in the pick up area. She's a cop, so people usually make room for police vehicles." Dad chuckled.

"Police corruption at its finest." I giggled, quite unsure of what else to do or say.

"Well she won't ask people to move, they will do it of their own accord. Not our fault." Dad smartly replied, riding on the end of this awkward conversation.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go. My bag is coming out any second and I'm always paranoid of someone trashy grabbing it. You also have a bad guy to catch." I stated to my father, deciding to save all conversation for when I get to see him.

"That I do. I'll talk to you later okay sweet pea?" Dad asked me.

"Okay, bye Dad." I sweetly replied, before hanging up.

Dad was right. The pick up bay was left empty except for the one police car - a large four-wheel drive hummer type car.

It was holding up traffic though. The car was parked perfectly out of the way. However people were looking over in an annoying type fashion as they drove past, which slowed them down and hence held up traffic.

Because of this I swiftly walked towards the car, wasting no time in opening the passenger door and dumping my suitcase in the feet area - causing my legs to be quite elevated.

"Well hi there. I'm Calleigh. It's so nice to finally meet Frank's daughter. I haven't met you, but I feel I know so much about you" the woman in the driver's side stated, a wide smile on her face.

She had platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes. This woman was stunningly gorgeous and had a southern belle accent that suited her.

"I'm Anna, and it's just as much a pleasure to meet you." I smiled shyly, finding her friendliness comforting but I was still feeling a little uncomfortable.

"So um... Where can I take you?" Calleigh asked me, letting her smile falter a little as a hint of seriousness took over.

"You have evidence to drop off right? I might come with you to the lab, I could meet Dad there." I shrugged; trying to show it wasn't a big deal but secretly hoping she would say yes.

"Well sure. That sounds like a great idea." Calleigh smiled brightly, changing gears and then exited the parking pay with ease.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone. Sorry for the errors in the first part, the page breaks didn't show up when I changed point of views (which is a one off) so the first part looks so confusing. Sorry! Thank you to thechristomycolfer for the kind review.

* * *

"I hope I didn't scare you with the whining of my brothers. It seems so below me to act so immature, but both my father and myself don't think too highly of them." I weakly smiled to Calleigh.

It seems my father whined on the job a lot about my brothers, which got Calleigh asking about what they had done. I informed her of a lot of the little things, opening the floodgates as I had a new person to whine to.

"Not at all. Frank always complains about his 'two idiot sons' and compares them to what an angel you are. It was nice to hear his claims backed up by somebody. Besides, I'm the one that asked." Calleigh replied, giggling a little.

We walked into the Miami Dade headquarters, Calleigh struggling with all the evidence a little. I would have helped her, but I knew I wasn't allowed to touch evidence, as I wasn't a cop.

"So this is our front desk. You're allowed to come up with me, but you'll have to sign in and wear a guest pass." Calleigh explained to me.

"Of course." I shrugged, smiling at the receptionist as she handed me the sign in sheet and a guest pass, which I immediately put on.

Before we could even take a few steps towards the elevator, a male approached us. Well, approached Calleigh.

"Come on, that's far too heavy for you. Let me take it up." the male said to Calleigh.

"Thank you Ryan. Oh, Ryan this is Anna. She is Frank's daughter. Anna this is Ryan, he is part of our team." Calleigh stated, introducing us.

Ryan did nothing but smile as he shook my hand; I smiled softly as I shook his hand as well.

"Would you mind if Anna shadowed us? She's signed in so she's allowed to. Frank said he might be a while so I think it would be good for her to see what we do here." Calleigh said to Ryan.

Ryan then pressed the elevator, and moments later there was a ding.

I said nothing as I stepped in. I felt a little awkward being here. Even though I signed in, was I really allowed here?

A few others got in and out of the elevator, giving me weird glances but greeting Calleigh and Ryan. Ryan noticed how uncomfortable I was, and gave me a soft pat on the shoulder.

Finally, our floor came and we stepped off.

* * *

"I think Horratio and Frank are downstairs, Horratio just called. Anna you should head down there and meet them." Calleigh stated.

"Okay. Well um... It was nice meeting you both." I awkwardly stated, unsure as to how to say goodbye.

"It was lovely meeting you too." Ryan stated back, keeping his arms crossed.

I frowned a little at this. Having arms crossed means somebody is keeping a distance, it was an awkward situation but the least he could have done would have been to shake my hand or something.

"What are you up to tonight? It's Friday night, if you need any ideas on where to go I can help you." Calleigh asked me.

I paused for a moment and blinked. It was a stupid question, I obviously didn't know anyone in Miami and she mouthed an 'oh' as she saw my reaction.

"Come hang with us! We're going to a few bars. It's a great way to meet people, and you won't be stuck inside. What do you say?" She asked me.

I hesitated once more. I went to decline, thinking it was a pity invitation but then I stopped. Even if it was, who cares? Being anti social won't win me friends.

"Okay, cool." I grinned.

"Great! This is going to be so fun. Here is my business card; it's got my cell on it. Give me a call when you're ready to head out and we'll organise something." Calleigh smiled, reaching into her pocket and handing me a card with her name, title and number on it.

"Great, I'll see you both tonight. Seeya Calleigh, bye Ryan." I smiled, waving as I headed back.

"See you tonight Anna." Ryan smiled, and I smiled back. That was better!

I got the elevator down to the lobby with a few officers. They all gave me weird looks as I had a visitor pass on, I could tell they wanted to know why I was here but weren't curious enough to ask.

It was made obvious when I saw Horatio and Dad in the lobby.

I had met Horatio Caine a few times when I came to Miami to visit dad. I wouldn't say we were close, but I had a lot of respect for him. He was such a good-hearted person, but a tough crime fighter at the same time.

I had a photo of Horatio and I when we were ten. It was a police car parked at these headquarters. I was in the front seat pretended to drive and Horatio was in the passenger seat. Dad had that photo framed, he really liked it.

"Anna, sweetie how have you been? Congratulations on finishing your college course and gaining your qualifications." Horratio said to me, catching me off guard with a hug.

"Hi Horatio! Thank you. Dad has told me you're apparently the most hated guy in this city when it comes to criminals. Good work, it shows you're doing your work correctly." I winked.

"Are you going home now honey?" Dad asked me.

"Um, yeah. Calleigh invited me to hang out with her and all the other people tonight, so I'm going to go home to get ready." I replied.

"She did? Oh god, I'm going to worry..." Dad trailed off, adding a sigh at the end.

"Frank, she will be okay. She will be with the safest group in Miami." Horatio stated.

"Yeah... I guess you're right. Anna, I'll get a patrol officer to drive you to your new apartment. I need to have a few words with Horratio's team." Dad mumbled.


	3. Chapter 3

I had no idea what to wear. It was a bar and not a nightclub, so I knew not to wear anything too revealing. I also knew not to dress up too much - it was just casual drinks. However at the same time I didn't want to be too underdressed, I really wanted to make friends tonight, with both Horratio's team and people I may meet tonight.

Dad offered to drive me to the bar, but I refused. I didn't want to look like I was twelve and being chaperoned.

I eventually settled on a tight black skirt that went to my waist, and a purple shirt that showed just the slightest hint of cleavage.

As it was summer, the setting sun in Miami was gorgeous. I couldn't see the team in the bar, so I ordered a drink and headed outside, knowing that would be their location.

Sure enough, they were there.

I nervously took the seat next to a pretty brunette, and sat in front of Ryan, not before greeting everyone first.

"Everyone, this is Anna, Frank's daughter. She's new to Miami, so I thought I'd invite her out." Calleigh introduced, and my cheeks turned red at her way of introducing me to everyone.

"Hi there, I'm Natalia." the brunette girl stated, smiling brightly as she offered her hand.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled, shaking her hand back but feeling slightly awkward at the formalities.

The other person I hadn't been introduced to started laughing.

"Eric! Don't be rude!" Calleigh shouted, giving him a light whack.

I didn't know what to do in this situation so I put on an awkward smile onto my face.

"Sorry Anna, it's nothing against you. You're just not what I pictured as Frank's daughter," Eric stated, "Oh and yeah, I'm Eric Delko."

"So tell us a little more about yourself Anna." Natalia requested, turning to me.

"Oh, um. Okay. I'm twenty-two. I recently graduated college with a business degree majoring in accounting and minoring in economics. I took a year off college to work full time, in which I got a little bit of accounts experience. Really, I'm not that interesting." I explained, turning red at the attention.

"Aw, isn't she such a sweet heart?" Calleigh said to everyone, making me turn even redder.

"Accounting and economics? You must be pretty smart." Ryan stated.

"Um, not really. It's just simple maths and formulas, you guys are the CSIs you're way smarter and more intelligent than me." I mumbled.

"So what are you doing in Miami right now?" Eric asked, moving the topic along, to which I sent him a grateful smile.

"I got a job as an accounts assistant for accounts payable for a small firm. Little steps. It doesn't pay too well, but I can still live comfortably. I managed to be able to afford a small studio apartment." I smiled.

"Good on you!" Natalia stated.

"I'm going to get another drink." I mumbled, downing my near-full drink in hand and getting up to go to the bar.

I felt bad for feeling so awkward. They were interested in me, or at least pretending to be. Either way they were being nice, but it was still awkward and forced conversation. Maybe if I get tipsier, or wait a while something else will break the ice?

I got up to the bar and ordered a drink, and while I was waiting a guy approached me. He looked to be in his thirties. He didn't look like a typical Miami guy, he was nearly as pale as me, and had a few tattoos running down his arms. I liked it. Not a guy I'd even consider dating, but not a Miami pretty boy at least.

"Hi there pretty lady. You look pretty lonely. Want to join me and my friends for a drink?" the man asked.

I looked back at the table of CSIs and considered it. I was here to make friends, right? But I couldn't ditch them so soon after getting here. It was awfully nice of them to allow me to tag along, and it would probably be less awkward later to converse with them once we all get some drinks into our system.

"I can't, my friends are here. How about I catch up with you later?" I offered.

"I'll see you then." the guy winked, taking his drink and walking off.

As I waited for the bar tender who was preparing drinks for a large table, I contemplated what I would order. I was almost tempted to order shots to make myself intoxicated faster in order to break the ice. But way to make myself look like an alcoholic. This was meant to be casual drinks, not a college party.

Before I could even open my mouth to order, a figure appeared next to me.

"Was that guy bothering you?" Eric asked, a frown etched over his face as he leaned on the bar next to me.

I blinked, being a little shocked at him suddenly appearing next to me.

"Oh! Um, no, not really. He invited me to sit with his group of friends, but when I declined he accepted it and moved on." I quickly stammered out, omitting the part where I told the stranger I'd catch up with him later.

"Alright. I don't like the look of him, if he hassles you later let me know, alright? I'll take care of him." Eric said to me, his frown not disappearing.

I didn't know how to take this. I was annoyed that he didn't think I could handle this situation on my own, or the fact that he barely knew me and was trying to protect me to this extreme. But at the same time I felt flattered. No one had aggressively protected me before, and as much as I wouldn't want one of my dad's co-workers to get into trouble it felt nice that someone would go to extremes to make sure I was okay.

"Okay. I trust you, and I trust your instincts. You know a lot more than me, and to be honest I'm quite naïve. It'd be stupid not to." I smiled at Eric, who dropped his frown immediately into a smile once he saw I wasn't offended, or wasn't going to rebel against his wishes.

"If you're going to trust me, I don't feel so bad letting you drink in that case. I'll buy you a drink, what do you want?" Eric asked me, pulling out his wallet.


	4. Chapter 4

Things started getting better in the second hour of these drinks. Some who said they were just going to 'have a couple' started having a few more once they realised they were over the legal limit anyway, so they may as well cab it home. Some were also starting to get into the heavier alcohol, myself included once the awkward few drinks were out of the way.

Obviously it wasn't going to be a huge night, they only do huge nights for special occasions such as birthdays or service anniversaries, as Natalia told me. But she did say they were going to have a few and have fun, and it was just that.

"Alright, since everyone has been buying me rounds all night it's my turn! I'm going to buy everyone a round of shots. What does everyone want?" Ryan asked, standing up and fishing for his wallet in his pants.

"You know what? I'm good thanks. I'm going to finish my wine." Calleigh said, holding up her near-full glass of red wine.

"I'm taking you up on your offer, Wolfe. You never offer to pay. Get me a whiskey shot, the choice of whiskey is the bartenders." Eric said to Ryan.

"I'm getting tequila, is that what you want too?" Natalia asked me, turning to look at me and I nodded "Okay, make that two."

"Whiskey and two tequilas. That's easy enough to remember." Ryan said, and before he could turn to walk to the bar I jumped out of my seat.

"You'll need help carrying them without spilling them." I said to him when I appeared at his side as we walked back towards the bar.

Ryan smiled at me, but chose not to reply and the ten-second walk to the bar was in silence.

"You and your co-workers are really nice for letting me tag along. I hope I haven't been a burden, or you feel you have to tread on ice and screen your conversations because I'm the daughter of someone who's senior in your team. In fact, I probably shouldn't have accepted Calleigh's offer in the first place." I glumly stated, looking down at my feet in embarrassment.

I knew some of this feeling was because of the alcohol, but now that I think about it maybe it wasn't a good idea…

"Hey, don't think that way. Calleigh invited you out because she wanted us all to get to know you better, so we can all be friends in the future. We know Frank is a honourable person and would raise his daughter with good morals and personality. It seems we were right, you're a great girl and we all love having you here." Ryan reassured me, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"Do you really mean it? If you're just saying it because you don't want to hurt my feelings I completely understand but-" I started, but Ryan cut me off by putting a finger to my lips.

"Don't be silly. I mean it. Our friend Maxine who works as a DNA analyst in our lab is having birthday drinks next Saturday night. I'm inviting you to come along, I and everyone else would love to have you there." Ryan said to me.

"I would love to, but shouldn't you ask Maxine first? She is the birthday girl, it's her decision." I nervously said, approaching his invitation with caution.

"Okay. On Monday I'll have a word with her, but she'll say yes. She's a kind person, and if word got around she didn't allow Frank Tripp's daughter to come along no one would turn up. So don't worry about it." Ryan said, removing his hands from my shoulders for a second to just give it a pat before putting them back to where they were.

"Um, okay cool. Yeah that's cool, if she says yes I'll come tag along for a while. I um, I'm not trying to be weird here but I guess I should give you my number, just so you can give me the details and let me know what she says." I shakily said, my face heating up and nerves taking over as I was scared what Ryan would think.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I'll grab my phone and give me the digits." Ryan said, moving his hands completely from my shoulders and I breathed out a little bit of breath I had been holding onto and felt my nerves begin to melt away.

He passed me his phone, and I entered my number as Ryan ordered the shots. When the barman was done I put his phone into his pocket for him, and I grabbed the tequila shots whilst Ryan held the ones for himself and Eric. I put the lemons slices on the top of the glasses and put the saltshaker under my arm.

"Got everything you need?" Ryan asked me.

"Yeah, just one more thing I need to do." I said to Ryan, nerves building up in me again as I debated whether to go through with what I was about to do or not.

I decided to go with it, and I tip toed up to align my lips with Ryan's face, to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for buying me a shot. I really appreciate it." I nervously smiled, when Ryan sent me a look of happy disbelief.

"No, it's okay. The pleasure is mine." Ryan smiled at me.

We turned to head back to the group, and every single person had a grin on their face. It was then I realised they had probably watched the flirting that had happened between Ryan and I. My face turned red as I took my previous seat next to Natalia and across from Ryan, and she raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she got her shot ready.

When I was receiving a call from Ryan Thursday evening, I nearly considered rejecting it. I was having a pretty awful day.

Whilst my job wasn't awful so far, they could be a little more understanding that I've entered a professional environment I've never entered before. I got an hour of training where they showed me how to do everything once and then expected me to do everything on my own. I hadn't been in trouble yet, but their patience was quickly wearing thin for numerous reasons and it was only a matter of time before I received a warning, even though I didn't understand how to do anything properly, and they got annoyed when I even asked.

Sigh, it's the knowledge from my old jobs I miss the most. I knew what I was doing, I knew how to get it done quickly and I did a damn good job of it.

The change of almost everything was getting to me too. Miami was completely different to my small town in Texas; to list the differences would be tiresome, because nearly every aspect was different. The stress of my new job plus adjusting to these changes was upsetting me.

I could pick up the phone and call my friends to speak about my feelings. My friends had a mixture of jealousy and sadness when I told them I was moving to Miami, and most of them begged me to stay and said I wouldn't like it here. I didn't want to hear 'I told you so' this early on.

Being upset nearly made me cancel Ryan's call, but my craving for human interaction made me answer it.

"Hey Ryan." I said with a weak smile in my voice as I answered the call.

I knew it was Ryan as he had texted me earlier in the week to say that Maxine had said yes and I had saved his number.

"Hey. I was calling you to let you know the details for Saturday night." Ryan said to me.

"Oh, cool. Just let me grab a pen." I said to him.

"Actually, no need. I'll text them to you. That's much easier." Ryan quickly said, and it sounded like it wasn't an idea that popped into his head just then. It sounded planned.

"O…kay…" I trailed off, unsure on how to reply.

"So, how has your day been?" Ryan asked me.


	5. Chapter 5

I forgot to say, this is based in season seven. Might make more sense now.

* * *

I agreed to let dad drive me to the event instead of getting a cab as he was going to the party as well, and it would be silly to pay money for a cab. When I got into the cab he looked me up and down, and I could tell he didn't like my dress. It did show a bit of skin I realised, but showing skin was the thing to do in Miami. My dress was nothing compared to what other girls wore.

It was a backless, navy blue halter dress. The front was v-shaped but only showed a hint of cleavage. The dress was backless, but there was a flowing skirt from my waist down with a pretty bow at the back. It was tame.

I had also straightened my hair, but put in a few loose curls through my hair. I also wore the usual make-up, plus lipstick with lots of shimmery lip-gloss applied over it, and ankle strap heels.

Dad did however say a few words about my dress when we walked in, and every pair of eyes was on us.

"Sweet pea if you like, I'll go back to your place and get a cardigan for you to wear over your dress? You might get a little cold." Dad said to me, pulling me aside briefly.

"Dad, it's fine. It's perfectly normal for you to be overprotective of me, especially when you haven't been around me a lot growing up and don't know what happens when I go out. But everyone here is someone you trust, right? No one here would hurt me. This is probably the safest place in Miami right now." I giggled to my dad.

"Tripp, it's okay. We've all got your back, and we're all watching to make sure she's okay." Eric said, coming over after hearing our conversation.

"Thank you Delko. Here's some money. Can you please get me a bourbon and coke? Buy something for yourself too." Dad said to Eric, handing him some cash. Eric only nodded as he walked off.

"Delko is a good kid, but I wouldn't trust him with you." Dad growled, as he watched Eric walk off to the bar.

"…why?" I curiously asked, finding Eric a little overprotective, but no other obvious flaws.

Dad sighed, before turning to me.

"A while ago he got drunk in a nightclub, and had err…sexual relations with a girl on a wall outside the nightclub where she stole his badge. Eric is an adult and can do whatever he likes in private, but I think it was a bit in bad taste." Dad explained to me.

I had to suppress a smile and a giggle. It was awful that he lost his badge in that way, but it was kind of funny to hear about a cop having sex that way.

"Hey Wolfe, do you mind keeping an eye out on Anna and looking after her if need be? I'm going to go mingle, and I'm sure she'll want to meet the younger people from MDPD as opposed to the people my age." Dad said, calling out to Ryan as he noticed him pass.

"Hi Frank. Yeah, that's not a problem. I was about to go do my rounds anyway, I'd be delighted to show Anna around." Ryan replied, stealing quick glances at me. I could tell he was being careful with his words as to not sound like he was babysitting me, and for that I was thankful.

Dad gave Ryan a pat on his shoulder before walking off.

"I'm glad you made it. You look…just wow. Completely stunning." Ryan smiled at me.

"You look pretty good yourself Ryan." I winked at him, and accepted his arm as he escorted me to meet everyone.

"So why did your dad ask me to look after you? I saw Eric approach you guys, why didn't he ask him?" Ryan asked me.

It was a little later on, and I had been introduced to nearly everyone in the bar at the party. Everyone was keen to meet Frank Tripp's daughter, and those I wasn't introduced to approached me to introduce themselves.

I got to meet a lot of people from the MDPD; most were from the day shift as they worked together. The day shift people and the night shift people were kept as separate as possible in order to avoid conflicts, or so people from either shift could be used in cases where they may be conflicting interests.

Ryan and I were now in a secluded area, leaning on the wall and facing each other. My dad had gone home a long time ago, but I had still kept myself clinging onto him all night.

"Um, he told me about the time Eric had sex outside a nightclub and some girl stole his badge." I stammered out, my face heating up as I realised how awkward this conversation was.

Ryan then began to laugh uncontrollably, and I cracked a smile at his laugh.

"Yeah that was about he same time I been taken off patrol and into the lab when that happened. It was awkward, to say the least. I guess I knew patrol guys who would do things like that, but it was always kept separate from work." Ryan laughed.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But Eric isn't that bad, is he?" I asked Ryan.

"God no. I'm sure you can think of something you've done that you regretted later on, something that was a one off. That was it for Eric. I know there's something I can think of I regret doing. Eric is a really good guy, who would go out of his way to protect any woman. He's not sleazy at all. That's why I'm surprised your dad chose me over Eric. Eric is well known for going to any length to save a woman." Ryan explained to me.

"I gotta say, I'm quite glad he wanted you to watch out for me though. I've enjoyed my night with you very much." I smiled at Ryan, taking a step towards him to show how flirty I was being.

"I've enjoyed spending time with you." Ryan said to me, putting his arms around me.

Were we about to kiss?


	6. Chapter 6

There were a few catcalls as we were kissing, and both Ryan and I were blushing by the time we pulled away from our long kiss.

"Um, yeah, what did you think?" I sheepishly asked, feeling nervous as I remembered that I was the one that initiated the kiss.

"Don't get me wrong Anna, I really liked it. You're a beautiful girl and I feel privileged that I got to kiss you. But I also can't help but to think that this is definitely going to go back to your father, and he's going to kill me." Ryan stated, smiling at the beginning of his statement but then looked quite glum once he was finished.

"Yeah, maybe kissing in public was a bad idea. But we'll cross that bridge once we come to it. He went home a while ago, I'll smooth it over with him sometime before the weekend is over." I shrugged.

Ryan said nothing but gave me a coy smile before grabbing my waist and pushing me into him for another kiss.

We kissed again for a while, slobbering over each other's lips as we were both still quite intoxicated.

"Natalia is taking a while with those paper towels." Ryan observed, once we finally parted.

"Yeah, too bad. I might just head home, I got to kiss the boy and there's no one else I really intend on meeting tonight. Wanna come with?" I asked Ryan, and it didn't hit me until a few seconds later what my question actually meant.

Ryan looked at me for a while, waiting for me to subtract my offer. Hell, I was even waiting for myself to stammer out an excuse and leave. Maybe things would be okay though. I asked for purely innocent reasons, I wasn't implying sex at all. Ryan knows there's no way in hell I could smooth anything over with dad if we had sex, and he wouldn't take the risk. Even if he does say yes we'll just chill out and crash, he knows I wasn't implying sex.

"O…okay." He stammered out, and I smiled and grabbed his hand as I led him out of the bar, into the street so we could hail a cab.

We easily managed to get one, as there was a popular nightclub next to the bar, and as it was now 1AM it was apparently prime time to begin your night, so we jumped into a cab just as people were jumping out.

I lived fairly close to the bar, so it was only a $25 cab fare including tip. I paid the fare before Ryan could even offer to pay. It was my apartment and I was going to have to pay the cab anyway, why should he help?

I put the key in the door and we stepped in, and even in my fairly drunken state I began to blush at the state of my apartment.

It wasn't messy per say, besides a few clothes strewn on the floor and a few unpacked boxes. But I was embarrassed about the state of the apartment. The walls had cracks everywhere, and had nicotine stained yellow tinge colour. The kitchen bench was almost falling off, and the apartment was tiny because it was only a studio. I didn't even want to show him the state the bathroom was in.

"It's kind of not much, but when you've just graduated from college and in an entry level position, you can't really afford a penthouse apartment…" I nervously laughed, scratching my head.

"Trust me, my first apartment was even worse than this. You've done well, and you're decorating it nicely for what it is. I don't think any less of you." Ryan said to me.

"Thanks. Um, I'm going to go shower, Natalia's drink seeped through the material onto my skin and it's quite sticky. I'll only be about five minutes, is that okay?" I asked Ryan.

"Of course, take your time." He smiled at me.

I returned his smile, and I quickly grabbed a tank top and a pair of boxer shorts from my drawer before running into the bathroom.

I stayed true to my word; I only took a few moments to wash the sticky residue off my chest and stepped out. I put on my change of clothes and studied my appearance in the mirror. Surprisingly, my make-up hadn't rubbed off yet, and although it wasn't as good was it was when I first applied it, I thought it would be stupid to reapply it just before bed. So I just sprayed some deodorant and went back out to Ryan, feeling a lot fresher and just a little less drunk.

Ryan, who was playing on his phone and lying on my bed immediately put it back into his pocket and quickly sat up. I smiled, feeling a little nervous and sat next to him on the edge of my bed.

"I'm not trying to pressure you into anything you don't want to do. I didn't come here expecting…you know. I came here as a place to crash mostly." Ryan said to me.

I furrowed my eyebrows in my own confusion, with Ryan noticing and taking this action in the wrong way.

"You're a very attractive girl, Anna. I don't want to mess things up with you, I actually do really like you. That, and I know how good of an aim your father is with a gun." Ryan joked, and I giggled at his joke.

"But seriously, um. Look, this is going to sound really sleazy but I'm drunk, and you're pretty. I have no qualms about what I do with you now, but I'm not expecting anything and will not under any circumstance try and pressure you." Ryan stated.

"L-let's just see where tonight takes us, okay?" I stammered out.

I was feeling confused right now. He wasn't being sleazy, but at the same time I was uncomfortable with how straightforward he was being. Common sense was even telling my drunk self not to do this if I wanted self-respect and for something serious to come out of this. But hormones were telling my body a different story.

"I really want to kiss you right now. Am I allowed to just grab you when I want to?" Ryan cautiously asked, and I had to giggle at how adorable he looked as he asked.

"Of course. Just go for it." I answered.

He took no hesitation in attacking my lips once again. However this time, unlike the times in the bar he was a lot rougher as we were now in a private residence.

Our lips only parted for a moment as he pushed me onto the bed, attacking my lips roughly once again as he climbed on top of me.

We did this for a while, until he moved his attention from my lips and began to leave a trail of kisses on my neck.

It was at that moment I knew I'd be disregarding common sense tonight.


	7. Chapter 7

I awoke the next morning, feeling nauseas. You know you're beginning to get old when you start getting hangovers. Mixing drinks and not drinking water the previous night was a bad idea. I didn't have a pounding head yet, but if I didn't take care of it soon it would escalate into that.

I then noticed the hand on my hip and my lack of clothes, and I instantly remembered my night with Ryan. I smiled and giggled for a second, but then stopped. He works with my dad, my very protective dad whom does not like my brothers and I am the youngest in the family. Even if I start dating Ryan I have to tread cautiously, so there's no way we can leak that we slept together.

I slowly moved his hand from my hip and placed it next to him. He was stirring around, so I could tell I had awoken him.

I quickly jumped off the bed, found a black skirt and a white tank top and bolted to the bathroom before he could wake up properly.

I showered before bed last night but due to our activities I knew another one was in order. When I got out I straightened my hair, got dressed, sprayed deodorant and perfume and applied some makeup.

Before I stepped out, I took a deep breath as I put my hand on the doorknob of the bathroom door.

Even though I had just recently graduated college, I hadn't bought a guy home I wasn't officially seeing since the beginning of sophomore year. I grew a bit of class then, having successfully graduated from 'recently moved out of home, going to get wild' party girl ways. Back then I wasn't stupid and knew it would only be a one night stand, and I'd always sneak off to the bathroom to get them out of my dorm, because I knew they thought they'd be 'clever' by leaving when I was preoccupied. Little did they know it was my ploy to get them to leave as soon as possible without having to mutter out awkward goodbyes.

But now I was feeling insecure about this one. I already liked Ryan a lot, and I'd probably be really upset if he had left without saying goodbye. I regretted my decision to sleep with him. He probably thought I was easy, and wasn't interested in me anymore. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? I am so stupid…

I took a deep breath and left the bathroom. I blinked in confusion when I saw Ryan fully dressed sitting on the bed, phone in his hand like he was last night.

He smiled when I entered the room, and I sent a weak smile back.

"Hey you." He said to me, jumping off my bed and approaching me to wrap his arms around me in a hug.

"Hey." I smiled back, relieved that he didn't disappear on me.

However, he immediately frowned and took a step back.

"Sorry. I'm being too overbearing, I know. I kind of just really like you, and I have a good feeling about this. Is that really bad?" Ryan asked me, a nervous smile on his face as he looked down for a second.

"No. I feel the same way, it's good. It also makes last night seem a little less awkward, and I don't feel too bad for moving too fast now." I replied.

"Great. On that note I should definitely take you to dinner though, we'll do a proper date. How does that sound?" Ryan asked me.

"Yeah, that sounds good. We probably should do a dinner date sometime." I agreed.

Ryan just nodded, and we were engulfed in silence for a few moments. I looked around the room awkwardly trying to find a conversation starter. I failed, but Ryan had this covered.

"I'm sorry to leave so early, but I should probably call a cab and go home. I promised my sister I'd look after my niece today so her and her husband can go look at Ikea for furniture and then go to a white goods store to look at washing machines." Ryan said to me, a sad look washing over his face.

"Is that what married with kids life is? Seriously? Getting a babysitter to look at furniture on a Saturday afternoon? Kill me now," I joked, but then realised how rude it sounded considering I didn't know Ryan that well "I'm totally joking, by the way. I think it's sweet you're spending time with your niece."

"Don't sweat it. She's my older sister by three years, and she got married when she was twenty-three and I was twenty. The whole family like to joke about me being single, so I gladly joke about how depressing married life must be to my sister." Ryan informed me, chuckling at his statement.

I only cracked a smile, still regretting commenting on such a personal issue, afraid to reply to Ryan's statement in case I said anything offensive. It's okay for family to say certain things, but never outsiders.

"Yeah I have that kind of relationship with my two brothers, but it's not the in jest kind. Anyway that's a rant for another time, I hope you have a good afternoon with your niece and we'll liaise about a first date." I smiled at Ryan, after thinking of a reply for a few moments.

We both made our way towards my front door and I opened it for him and we both stepped outside onto the balcony area.

"Alright. Well um, have a good week. We'll talk soon." Ryan said to me, and it dawned on me how awkward this was, but I couldn't pinpoint why.

"You too, we'll definitely talk. I'll um, text you during the week." I replied.

Ryan then leaned in, and I honestly thought he was going for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, but was surprised when he narrowly missed a kiss as I ducked under him for a hug.

I gave him a sheepish smile to show my mistake, and he gave my lips a peck before bounding off the balcony, cell phone put to his ear.

I went inside, and quickly shut the front door. Once it was shut I leaned against it and let out a sigh. I wasn't usually this lame but dammit, why not. Things were going right with this guy.

* * *

Later that day I had agreed to go test drive cars with my father. I had saved up for a cheap car back in Texas, and dad agreed to chip in some money too as a college graduation present.

"I'm so proud of you sweet pea. Because I've never had to buy college graduation presents for your two idiot brothers, and because they've decided to cut contact with me I've decided to cut down their birthday money so I'll be buying your car for you." Dad said to me, on the drive to the car dealership.

"Oh no, no way dad. I couldn't ask for that. You had to shell out child support for years to mum, and on a policeman's wage. There's no way I could ask you to do that for me." I replied.

"Yes, but as I said I've cut corners elsewhere. I've also been promoted to sergeant since. Besides, since your mother decided to blow all her money on that stupid husband of hers, I was only able to help you out a little bit with your student loans for your college education. Treat it as me helping out with your college loan, use the money you saved up for the car towards your student loan." Dad said to me.

"We'll discuss the funding of my student loan and my car later. There's something I need to discuss with you." I nervously said, beginning to fidget with my seatbelt as I tried to muster courage and the right words to use.

"Is everything okay?" Dad asked me, and out of the corner of my eye I could see shoot me a worried look before turning his attention back onto the road.

"Yeah, everything is good. I just need to talk to you about one of the guys on Horatio's team…" I trailed off.

"Is somebody bothering you? Which one, Delko or Wolfe? I'll have it taken care of instantly." Dad said, his voice rising.

"No! Nothing of the sort. It's just um, I've been talking to Ryan a lot lately, and I feel like I have a really good bond with him. And um, I like him, and I know he likes me back too." I confessed to my dad, wincing by the end of my statement.

He slammed on the breaks, and my heart pounded both from the sudden stop and what this means. That was not a good reaction for him to have.

But, I was proven wrong. As he resumed driving he began to chuckle loudly.

"Wolfe is a good kid. As I told you I just didn't want you to pursue anything romantically with Delko. Out of all the guys at work for you to end up with Wolfe would be up there on the list of my preferred. He doesn't go out every weekend like the rest, or do reckless things like random sex and drinking." Dad informed me.

"Wow Dad, sounds like you're in love." I joked, letting out an unattractive snort at the end.

"I'm just letting you know you have my blessing to date him. As I said, he's a good kid. He ran into a bit of trouble a couple of years ago, but he's cleaned up his act. Besides I'd feel much safer if you were running around Miami with a cop, rather than a professional from your work or something." Dad stated to me.

I cocked my head at his statement of 'ran into trouble' but didn't ask him to elaborate. I was curious, but not curious enough to bring it up. Dad was overprotective of me, and if he could only say nothing but praise about Ryan after bringing up that we were kind of dating, he was obviously a good guy.


End file.
